With offices in Newport Beach, New York, Toronto and Montréal, Passport Brand Design, part of WPP, is rapidly putting itself on the map as a trusted brand partner. We’re passionate about offering creative leadership to global businesses seeking direction on high-level brand strategy, evergreen and seasonal campaigns, and creative executions across all touch points. Our holistic approach to brand identity begins by creating a strategic positioning and brand purpose, which is then translated into a core creative idea that has the power to align teams and guide a fully integrated marketing process. We are looking for people who love what they do, who want to stay inspired and inspire others, who want to do great work and work with great people.
About WPP
Passport is part of WPP, the trusted growth partner for the world's leading brands. Powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform WPP Open, WPP unites cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, creativity, production, enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel.
Senior Strategist
Overview
We are seeking a talented Senior Strategist to support a leader brand in a regulated industry. This person will bring strong Brand Strategy and Creative Strategy experience as well as experience in the activation of those strategies across the audience journey. (If you are predominantly another kind of strategist, e.g., CX, content, please be aware that we are prioritizing Brand Strategy and Creative Strategy candidates.)
Role
The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker with advertising agency experience who can move confidently and comfortably between big-picture brand thinking and hands-on campaign development. They should be able to immerse themselves in the business; partner with Creative teams; collaborate closely with Creative, Account and CX teams; and communicate clearly and compellingly with clients.
Responsibilities
- Help define the strategic and creative problems to be solved / opportunities to be seized
- Understand the business, brand and audience goals and KPIs
- Design and conduct research to analyze category, culture, brand, product and audiences
- Optional but preferred: The core priority is consumer experience. A nice-to-have is work with health-care professionals (HCPs), especially pharmacists
- Develop audience insights, including tensions to be resolved and needs to be met
- Demonstrate fluency with different types of research (e.g., quant, qual, social listening) and data (e.g., MRI)
- Write Creative Briefs and Activation Briefs that inform and inspire Creative teams
- Work with Creative teams to ensure Brave Ideas, Beautifully Crafted
- Determine audience journeys, including key channels across mass, digital, physical, retail and POS, content, social working in concert with CX experts, clients, and client media agency
- Understand regulatory environments in client partnership to ensure responsible work
- Participate in client meetings, present strategic work, build trusted client relationships
- Work closely with Account and Creative teams
Requirements
- Priority: Brand Strategy and / or Creative Strategy
- Must-have: Consumer experience. Nice-to-have: HCP experience
- 5+ years experience
- Agency experience
- Demonstrated ability to develop insights, ideas, campaigns, activations — successful candidates will be able to share an existing sample of past work
- Clear, concise, compelling communication skills, both written and oral
- Experience in a regulated industry such as nicotine, healthcare/pharma, financial services, alcohol, gaming, or similar is preferred. Must be comfortable supporting a nicotine account.
- Experience across the channels and touchpoints noted
- Proven ability to work directly with clients
Location
Canada-based candidates only, with preferences for Montreal (first preference) and Toronto (second preference). This role follows a hybrid schedule with an expectation of working onsite approximately three days per week.
The base salary for this position at the time of this posting may range between the values at the bottom of this posting. Individual compensation varies based on job-related factors, including location, business needs, level of responsibility, experience, and qualifications.
We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office an average of four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.
WPP (Passport Brand Design) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.
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Skills Required
- Brand Strategy and/or Creative Strategy
- Consumer experience
- Work with health-care professionals (HCP) experience
- 5+ years experience
- Agency experience
- Demonstrated ability to develop insights, ideas, campaigns, activations and provide past work samples
- Clear, concise, compelling written and oral communication skills
- Comfortable supporting a nicotine account
- Experience in a regulated industry (e.g., nicotine, healthcare/pharma, financial services, alcohol, gaming)
- Experience across channels and touchpoints (mass, digital, physical, retail, POS, content, social)
- Proven ability to work directly with clients
- Canada-based candidate
- Hybrid schedule with onsite approx. three days per week
What We Do
For over 20 years, Passport has partnered with those looking to challenge their category. To think, create and activate. To rebrand and reinvigorate with new stories, and to inspire consumers to press forward. From global brands to start-ups, it's the vision we share. Just like us, they’ve got a hunger for bold new thinking and partnerships that can move the needle.
